Today we’re talking to Dr. Anael Alston about specific issues with high-poverty schools. In a refreshing take on dramatic school change, Anael does not recommend that we assign blame. Instead, he recommends an approach that focuses on teacher expectations and several other things. As a turnaround principal himself, Anael has insights into how to help teachers change their attitude about how students can perform.

I think his principles apply to all teachers, because we all have students who struggle. We all have students who need us to believe in them. I think perhaps the greatest challenge is what Anael tells teachers who just don’t believe the kids can do it. It’s actually genius. Take a listen.

(Oh, and there were so many great quotes, I’ve included them in graphics at the bottom for those listeners who love to pin great quotes to Pinterest!)

Today’s Sponsor: Bloomz

Bloomz is your one-stop solution for parent-teacher communications. More than just connecting with their cell phones, you can send long or short messages. You can share pictures and links. You can even coordinate volunteer schedules, donations, and parent-teacher conferences. I’m using Bloomz in my classroom.

Show Notes:

What should principals do when teachers just don’t believe the kids can do it?

How do you help teachers reframe their expectations?

What kinds of things did Anael do to help teachers change their attitudes in the high-needs schools that he has helped turn around?

Why does the blame game accomplish nothing? What do you do instead?

What can teachers in high-needs, high-poverty schools do to adjust their own attitude when they feel like they’re not getting leadership from the top?

Who is Dr. Anael Alston?

Born and raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn, Dr. Anael Alston @DrAAlston is the Superintendent of the Hamilton Central School District. Dr. Alston has written political commentary for Newsday, written nationally for EdWeek, has presented at national and statewide conferences on school change and curriculum reform, testified for Governor Cuomo’s Education reform Commission, and occasionally does radio as an education expert.

A secret to great teaching is to understand what students know. I’ve had times when one or two students begged me to move on because what I was teaching was “so easy” or they were “bored. When I did, I would discover that the rest of the class did not master the material and I had moved on too quickly! We all struggle to know what students know “in the moment” so we can adjust our teaching. We need them to master the material. We need to teach it. But how can we know what they know without depending on hand raising and verbal feedback from just a few students? Formative assessment is the answer. Formative assessment can supercharge your classroom learning. Technology can make formative assessment easier for you. Lesson flow.

Formative assessment gives us the ability to quiz every single student in the class. Every teacher should have one or two formative assessment tools that are part of their lesson flow. In today’s show, you’ll get lots of options. Find one or two that work for you and start using them.

I would go so far to say that formative assessment is one of the greatest gifts of education technology to the classroom. A teacher with a smartphone has amazing tools in hand. Used properly, they can save time and help you understand students better.

My question is why more teachers don’t use these tools. I guess they don’t realize the time savings. One of our biggest problems as teachers is not having enough time.

Here’s how I saved time using these tools. When I used to teach binary numbers, it used to take me 2-3 hours a night to grade the quizzes. (After all, binary numbers is all 1’s and 0’s. That is it. So, I also made mistakes.) Now, the moment a student hits a button on the last question, the quiz is graded, and I can go over what they missed with them! It is fantastic.

Let’s dive deeper into formative assessment in today’s show! I challenge you to find ONE tool and try it out. (Listen to the show and check out the links at the bottom of this post.)

Gradecam – Today’s Sponsor

Formative assessment options can save you time. GradeCam is a quick grading tool for formative AND summative assessment. You get instant feedback on what students know. Gradecam lets you print out forms. You can take a quick picture of their answers. It grades in a snap using your smartphone. If you are taking the grade for the quiz or test, you can send those grades to your Gradebook software in a snap.

Use the real world to teach without the mess of physical manipulatives. In brief, virtual math manipulatives are powerful tools for math teachers everywhere. On the whole, many teachers don’t understand how to use them. So, today, you’ll get a simple tour of virtual math manipulatives from expert David Wees.

In light of the fact that NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) and other organizations highly recommend manipulatives in the math classroom, today’s topic is essential for math teachers. At this point, pretty much every standard out there has math manipulatives you can use to teach it. Despite what some may think, virtual math manipulatives AREN’T videos — they are tools that allow students to interact and manipulate objects as they learn.

Today’s Sponsor Matific

Virtual math manipulatives are awesome. However, finding the perfect manipulative takes time. Matific does the work for you. To simplify the process for teachers, they’ve aligned their virtual math manipulatives to Common Core and State Standards. You can even look up popular math textbooks and it will give you the manipulatives that will work for you (by chapter and page!)

You can assign students different manipulatives to use. Moreover, if you have ELL students, they have 27 languages you can assign to students. So, you can set the “primary language” for a student and they’ll receive instruction in that language. (You can print out parent reports in their native language too.) I took a tour of Matific and came away excited to see the future of math education. It saves time for teachers and makes math instruction easier. Check out Matific, take a tour, and play with the manipulatives that align with your textbook today.

In summary, Matific lets you use math manipulatives without the work of finding just the right one for your unit of study.

Places to Find and Use Virtual Math Manipulatives for your Math Classroom

Matific (today’s sponsor) has a free trial so you can play with those as well.

Who is David Wees?

David Wees is currently a Formative Assessment and Instructional Specialist for New Visions for Public Schools in New York City. He has worked as a mathematics and science teacher in New York City, London, Bangkok, and Vancouver.Â Twitter id: @davidwees

Do you want to help students love writing? In this segment, we talk about a new book including 300 strategies to get students excited about writing. So, if you’re struggling to teach writing and get students engaged, listen to Jennifer Seravallo’s ideas. From peer review across the entire process to engaging students in writing, Jennifer is full of high-impact ideas to improve classroom writing.

Today’s Sponsor, Write the World

Write the World is a fantastic free tool to encourage writing in your classroom. Not only can teachers run writing contests but they can also assign classroom writing prompts. Also, students can join the monthly contests and global writing prompts with other students around the world. Furthermore, Write the World has a schedule of their writing prompts for the year. So, when you’re planning, include these cool contests.

Targeted to students aged 13-18, Write the World is a powerful, fun community for writing. Even more importantly, the site is easy it is to use.

Make writing exciting this year in your classroom. There’s no cost for teachers to join with their classrooms.

Given all these benefits, I recommend this site for writing teachers of students aged 13-18. So, join Write the World and get kids excited to write!

Classic literature can be exciting. You can teach classic literature like a pro with today’s insight from Starr Sackstein. What do Rodney Dangerfield, Alfred Hitchcock, and Harry Potter have to do with teaching students about classical literature? You’ll have to listen to find out. (I can’t believe all of them came up in one episode!) This wide-ranging conversation hits at the heart of teaching literature. Just because a piece was written hundreds of years ago doesn’t mean that it be irrelevant to the students who read the text.

From making annotations to making the book relevant, to finding the “right answer,” Starr talks about the pitfalls and successful strategies she has used to teach kids about classical literature.

Today’s Sponsor, Owl Eyes

If you teach classical literature, you’ll want to check out Owl Eyes! Owl Eyes has a free library with lots of free exemplar texts like Beowulf, Hamlet, and others. Teachers can include their annotations in the book before students download them. As students read, teachers can see student annotations as they’re making them. You can even embed quizzes in the text. (No more waiting — the moment students finish a section, you can check for understanding.)

Owl Eyes is a game changer for people who teach classic literature. Take time to download Owl Eyes now and see if they have the books your teaching this year in their library. It can save you a lot of time and give you the ability to do things you never could before.

Show Notes on how to Teach Classic Literature:

How do you encourage students to find evidence for their conclusions?

What if their evidence or conclusions don’t align with those of “experts”?

How do you make literature relate to students who may not be interested in that book? (I like the example of how Starr relates Pride and Prejudice to some of the male readers in her class who don’t care for the book.)

How do you use annotations and close reading techniques to help students read more deeply?

What mistakes did Starr make in her earlier years and how did she change to level up her teaching?

Who is Starr Sackstein?

Starr Sackstein teaches writing and journalism in New York City. She is a National Board-certified teacher and the New York director for the Journalism Education Association. Sackstein is also the author of the book Teaching Mythology. @mssackstein. Starr also appeared in Episode 125.

Every Classroom Matters (Recent Shows)

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